Many businesses rely heavily on their online presence to drive sales, with automotive dealers and financial service providers particularly dependant on this market. The majority of shoppers spend significant time researching their next purchase online, prior to any interaction with a product vendor (e.g. mortgage broker, insurance broker, vehicle dealership, etc.). During their pursuit of product knowledge, a customer may submit inquiries directly to product vendors of their choice, creating a virtual interaction with the product vendor (e.g. virtual walk-in to the dealership, actual visit of phone call to the broker, etc.). This is where many product vendors (e.g. sales consultants) struggle, as they view these customers as less serious shoppers than an actual interaction (e.g. dealership walk-in). Sales consultants who have adopted this mindset are missing out on a high percentage of shoppers who prefer to make first contact through online inquiries. Like many business problems, there is a need for statistical or factual support through evaluation and/or training to change current product vendor sales practices.
Online interaction between businesses and consumers continues to increase year over year. Consumers are able to use the Internet to gain upfront knowledge about products, and many prefer to introduce themselves online to suppliers. This creates an online market that businesses need to adapt to, and be trained in, for efficient and effective handling of customer inquiries. While this is a well-known market trend, many industries and individuals have been slow to accept it. This problem is prevalent in the financial services and the automotive industry, to name a few, specifically the sales consultants direct handling of customer inquiries.
For example, the Internet is allowing consumers in the automotive industry to attain expert vehicle and dealership knowledge to assist in their buying decisions. Research shows that as of January, 2014, 79% of automotive consumers researched vehicles or dealerships online prior to a dealer visit (Cars.com, 2014). These online visitors are able to inquire directly with a dealer about specific vehicles, or vehicle lines. From this point forward it is up to the dealer to secure the customer through their digital presence. It is recognized that there are inherent problems with current dealership's initial responses to customer inquiries and the likelihood of the customer purchasing a vehicle from that specific dealership. What is needed are efforts in supporting quality response practices.